Back in the old days (before there was an Internet) certain people -- called "authors" -- would write "books" and other people -- called "readers" -- would read them.
If you're interested in carrying on this ancient tradition, there is a plethora of excellent travel writing out there.
Travel Essays
Guidebooks may be able to describe the factual details of a place, but only a good travel essay can bring it alive in all its putrid, car-honking, sleep-deprived glory.
One of the most widely traveled authors is Paul Theroux. He has truly lived the traveler's life -- starting with a stint in the Peace Corps and followed by 30 years of wandering to all corners of the globe. Theroux is crotchety, cantankerous, and hilarious. It's refreshing to hear an author describe his genuine reactions to a place complete with biases, discomforts, and dislikes, even if they're not always politically correct. Any traveler to China should read Theroux's classic Riding the Iron Rooster, and Mediterranean visitors will enjoy The Pillars of Hercules.
The king of the Everyman traveler is Tim Cahill. Cahill's misadventures take him to bug-infested Amazon plateaus, kava-drinking Pacific islands, and beer-swilling Wisconsin ice fishing contests. Cahill is Theroux on Prozac.
The original -- and perhaps the best -- travel author is Mark Twain. His musings about travel companions and life on the road are as pertinent today as they were 150 years ago. I especially enjoyed The Innocents Abroad, an interesting counterpoint to Theroux's travels in the same area.
Guide Books
Until we're on the road, I can't truly pass judgment on various guidebooks. The "Lonely Planet" and "Rough Guides" series are the most widely used in Asian backpacking circles and are joined by the "Let's Go" series in Europe. We have found the Rough Guides to be easier to read, but the Lonely Planets to be more informative. For less detailed information but more pictures and maps, the "Insight Guide" and "Eyewitness Guide" series make a good read.
Urgent Matters
If you are like most Westerners and you have never used a squat toilet, then Eva Newman's Going Abroad is an indispensible book. This book describes in detail how to use a wide variety of third-world toilets. She details everything from Ghana-ese pit toilets to Beijing "trough style" public toilets (where an open newspaper infront of your face serves as a divider from the gentleman squatting in front of you!). I still haven't figured out if "Going Abroad" is a joke of a book or serious, but it's definitely useful.
For example, here's a strategy from the book that I plan to employ:
When using a squat toilet, roll your pants up from the ankles as well as down to the knees. This way, when you squat you'll keep your pants tucked safely in the bend of your knees and out of . . . ummm. . . harms way.
Adventure
I can't let an opportunity get by without putting in a plug for books 
on Shackleton, Amundsen, Scott, and the other Antarctic explorers. What they endured in the name of science and glory will make any of your travel difficulties seem trivial and inconsequential.
Do yourself a favor and read Endurance, the story of Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to the cross the continent. Then read
A First Rate Tragedy, The Worst Journey in the World, The Last Place on Earth, and go on from there.
Television
WARNING! If you want to keep your job, do not subscribe to the Travel Channel. This recent edition to our cable line-up has added several months to our travel plans and a long list of places we can't even fit in our year abroad. Especially interesting is their "Lonely Planet" television series, which features in-depth travels to a different location each episode.